Brigham Young

Brigham Young was perhaps the most famous polygamist of the early Latter Day Saint Movement. He married a total of 55 wives. Only his first marriage to Miriam Angeline happened before his becoming a Latter Day Saint. He had 56 children from 16 of his wives.

He suffered from numerous ailments during the last days of his life. He had cholera morbus and inflammation of the bowels, and died of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix on August 29, 1877. He was 76.

His funeral, held on September 2, 1877, was attended by an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 people. He was buried on the grounds of the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monument in the heart of Salt Lake City.

Brigham Young was born into a farming family in Whitingham, Vermont, on June 1, 1801. His parents were John Young and Abigail "Nabby" Howe. He had a rustic upbringing and went to school for just 11 days.

Talented and hard working, he learned several skills as a young man and worked as a carpenter and blacksmith. He was also a skilled joiner, painter and glazier.

Interested in religion from a young age, he converted to the Methodist faith in 1823. However, reading the ‘Book of Mormon’ shortly after its publication in 1830 provided him a new religious direction.

Immediately drawn to the Mormon movement, he officially joined the new church in 1832 and traveled to Upper Canada as a missionary. During this time he established a community in Kirtland, Ohio, along with fellow Mormons.

Becoming very active in the new church, he was ordained a member of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835. Very soon he assumed a leadership role within the organization and passionately began spreading the movement to the United Kingdom.

The Mormons were driven out of Missouri in 1838, and as a senior member of the Quorum, Young directed the move to Nauvoo, Ill. He went to England in 1839 and helped to add many British converts to the Mormon Church in America through his mission. This aided the Mormons in establishing their foothold in the European continent.

A very significant event happened in 1844. Joseph Smith, president of the Mormon Church, was murdered in June. Several claimants emerged to succeed the deceased president but no new president was chosen for the next few years. Finally in 1847, Young was ordained President of the Church.

Brigham Young, along with other Mormons like Isaac Morley and George Washington Bradley founded the Salt Lake City in 1847. He led the Mormon community in extensively irrigating and cultivating the arid valley to make it suitable for human habitation. The city is home to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.